MARIA OLSEN
Faroese fishermen working on the deck of a pelagic vessel; Minister of Fisheries Høgni Hoydal (opposite).
with evaluating and revising how the fishing industry is structured as a whole, which includes the Law on Commercial Fishing and other relevant legislation.” “The aim,” Mr. Hoydal said, “is to organize the entire Faroese fishing in dustry within a secure and durable legal framework, administration and systems; to ensure that living resources in Faro ese territorial waters and Faroese rights in international waters, as well as rights which the Faroe Islands hold through agreements with other countries, are the property of the Faroese people and re main a lasting foundation of the Faroese economy and the welfare of the Faroese nation.” The ‘property of the people’ has been one of the sticking points with in terpretations varying, depending largely on one’s position within, or in relation to, the rather diverse fishing industry. A complicating factor is seen in the fact
that while parts of the industry have flourished in recent years, other parts have had a hard time barely surviving. Thus, to quite an extent, the call for re form has its basis in the perception that fishing rights should be distributed more equitably. ‘A PIONEERING COUNTRY’
So in Mr. Hoydal’s view, the idea of a level playing field is central to the topic— and that, indeed, market forces should be the deciding factor for the awarding of fishing rights, in contrast to the tra ditional ‘grandfathering’ principle cur rently in force. “It is my intent that we make it pos sible to work in a market-based fishing industry with industrial freedom and level competitive conditions,” he said. “This means that we can avoid business opportunities only being accessible to a few and that we can ensure that people
enjoy equal rights to conduct business and to ensure a basis for varied business activity, innovation and development throughout the country.” While such a proposition has been largely contested by leaders of the indus try, Mr. Hoydal was upbeat about the prospects of building consensus. “We’re only at the beginning of this process,” he said. “There are different aspects to many of the issues that will have to be deliberated upon, and that is also part of the Commission’s terms of reference. We look forward to receiving its report and will proceed based on its findings and anything else of relevance deemed necessary and expedient. Even tually, we need to arrive at something that will last beyond an election cycle.” In an international context, the Fisheries Minister is looking to position the Faroe Islands firmly in the forefront of managing fisheries sustainably, capi talizing on the remarkable amount of research data already available on the country’s marine ecosystems. “It is my hope that the Faroe Islands will become a pioneering country in terms of sustainable management of all fish stocks—in Faroese territorial waters, as well as in terms of international coop eration—and to have the most advanced knowledge and research about the fish stocks and eco-systems in the ocean.” Mr. Hoydal added: “It is certainly important that we as a country continu ously develop our role and responsibility with regards to international coopera tion, as well as agreements on fishing and the fishing industry, and that we secure our equitable share of rights to shared and migratory fish stocks.” Faroe Business Report 2016 •
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